Industry In-Focus

Taipei, March 1, 2011 (CENS)--The year 2011 will be the first for e-reader sales in Japan to rise while sales of the electronic readers in Europe are expected to surge, according to Scott Liu, chairman of E Ink Holdings Inc. (formerly Prime View International Co., Ltd., or PVI), adding that the company will increase capital spending this year to some NT$4.5 billion (US$150 million), compared to NT$1.5 billion (US$50 million) in 2010.

This year, E Ink will expand its upstream e-ink capacity, coating production processes, and its rear-section module plant in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.

At the recent shareholders meeting, Liu said that the company successfully achieved an annual production goal of 10 million EPD (electronic paper display) modules in 2010, while the FFS (Fringe-field switching) wide-viewing angle panels made by its Korean subsidiary Hydisits have been adopted by hot mobile devices as the iPads and iPhones.

E Ink has set monthly revenue records from September 2010 to January 2011, driving corporate profit margin in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 31.1% and after-tax profits of NT$1.92 billion (US$63.8 million). The company's 2010 profit margin was 32.4%, net profits NT$4.03 billion (US$134.3 million), and EPS (earnings per share) NT$3.8 (US$0.13).

Liu pointed out that sales of e-readers grew the most in the U.S. in 2011, followed by Europe and Japan.

Portability being the main criteria, Liu said, the mainstream e-reader screen size remains the six-incher, adding that the major growth driving such mobile device will come from entertainment applications, with the educational market still being strong.